Teacher snaps amazing great white shark photo, says it was a lucky shot

Students often wonder what their teachers get up to over their summer holidays, imagining all sorts of strange adventures they might get up to when not in the classroom.

In the case of Amanda Brewer, her students have photographic proof that her vacation was awesome.

A photo that the New Jersey elementary school art teacher took on her trip to South Africa has piqued the interest of many people online, as the stunning shot captures an up-close look at the shark that not many amateur photographers are lucky enough to get.

Brewer was working as a volunteer this summer with eco-tourism and animal conservation group White Shark Africa in South Africa. The photo, which racked up thousands of likes and comments on her Instagram account, was taken using a GoPro camera.

[ More Buzz: Move over, Nutella — spreadable beer is here ]

“I bought the camera right before I left for the trip, and had no expectations at all,” Brewer told TIME. “It was the perfect moment, and the camera is so easy to use and takes such magnificent photos. I’d been waiting for this kind of experience my whole life, and was worried that when it finally happened I’d ruin it, but that photo was taken from the cage and the shark was just coming straight at me. It happens so fast when you’re actually there.”

If you think that sounds like the perfect ad for a GoPro camera, it seems that GoPro would agree with you; the company featured Brewer’s photo as their Photo of the Day on their Twitter feed, which helped the picture go viral:

Brewer was spending most of her time in South Africa working as a research intern with White Shark Africa, and was able to go on the cage dive on one of her days off during the trip, she told GrindTV. In the partially submerged cage, Brewer says she saw the shark lunge out of the water and managed to capture the picture using a burst mode, which took 30 pictures. When she later checked the photos, this was the one that stood out.

“Immediately it was, ‘Oh my goodness. Everybody take a look,” said Brewer. “I think I really got something here. This photo is really going to do something.”